alignment on lowered cars

[20139c1]

Besides new springs is there any thing else needed when lowering one of these new Caprices? Any type of alignment kit?

[Raunchtastic]

With the limited wheel-time that I have had on my car since lowering it, I don't think it needs any additional equipment. It probably could benefit from an alignment,but mime was slightly off before, so yourileage may vary

[kevink]

With the limited wheel-time that I have had on my car since lowering it, I don't think it needs any additional equipment. It probably could benefit from an alignment,but mime was slightly off before, so yourileage may vary

Really? My car got much more unresponsive and sloppy after lowering which is due to being misaligned. Actually, the responsiveness of the steering is what most impressed me about the car before I lowered it. My car only has 5K on it, so if your car has a lot more miles on it than that you may not know how good it can be. Lowering a car an inch or two is a big deal and always requires an alignment.

[Raunchtastic]

My car was just over 110k on factory shocks. They were a bit soft, so I will have to replace them sooner than later. I noticed a huge jump in steering feel and responsiveness by putting on decent tires, as it came with worn out snow tires. I would think even just having new shocks would surprise me.

Back on topic: don't get me wrong, it would certainly benefit from an alignment. I just mean to say that it is not in drivable.

[CrashTestDummy]

Yeah, I'm wondering myself. I have a friend who competitively autocrosses a 5th Gen Camaro 1LE, and I'm waiting to catch him at our next event to ask him if he did any special alignment on his car. I'm thinking the Caprice could be pretty much the same.

[20139c1]

I just put H&R springs in my 2013 (pictures soon) and there was no problem with getting it back to factory specs. It was definitly out of spec when it went in for the alignment but there is enough adjustment to set it right. The springs set the car down 2". Both Eibach and BMR sell a camed bolt for the rear arm if you are going lower but not needed with the 2" drop.

[mercialogo]

I used to autocross my 2000 TA. I always ran with about 1.5 degrees of negative camber, 0 toe and all of the positive caster that I could get. Keep in mind that stock alignment keeps your tire almost completely flat while going straight. When you hit the corners hard and your suspension flexes you start riding closer to the outer edge of your tires. You want to be flat on the corners for the best traction. Not sure about the Caprice yet. I plan on auto crossing it next yr. I am still trying to decide what tires I am going to run and I need to take it up to a friend of mine so we can figure out the numbers for the front suspension. I also need to find out from SCCA as to what class I will be able to run the PPV in. Sadly I think it will be placed in the specialty class like the SS Camaros were. Big Ass Tuna boat in a specialty class is going to hurt for getting any trophies.

[CrashTestDummy]

It's currently classed in F Street (V8 not otherwise classed). You'll have to write a letter/email to the Solo board requesting classing if you want to compete in national events. In F Street, though, you'd be a back-marker, but it would be fun to see how many fellow-competitors days' you could ruin.

I'd think this thing could be a decent fit in G Street, because of stock weight and the limited wheel choices, but a letter would have to go in before any consideration happened. We've run our car, in totally-off the street form, but run in C Prepared, in order to keep our Year-end points count going. It's a hoot to drive, and would be a LOT of fun with some sticky tires. Not sure I'll get tires on it, but will definitely be trying it again after the coil-overs/bars are installed.